OCR Text |
Show Challenger Files New CAB Petition for Airline Routes Firm Asks Two Feeder Lines Serving Utah And Arizona; State Supports Plea - 'SALT LAKE CITY Supported by the Utah Leelslatmv at its special session closing last week, ChallengerAirlines has filed a new petition with the Civil Aeronautics Board in Washington asking for certification of two feeder airline routes. Challenger's action also follows the request of the Utah Municipal League directors' board and that of the Salt Lake chamber of commerce to "exert every effort" to bring continuation of airline service. j Challenger's original petition was denied recently on the basis that "no evidence existed" to show sufficient suffi-cient need for the routes proposed. Challenger then asked reconsideration, reconsidera-tion, but this was denied for the same reason. "We can't understand CAB's point of view," George W. Snyder, Salt Lake City, president of Challenger Chal-lenger said. "Since March 1, when we first began service, our Sun-liners Sun-liners have been carrying capacity and near capacity passenger loads on every trip. Even our non-scheduled flights between Phoenix and Salt Lake City have been at this same passenger level. It is reasonable reason-able to believe that, with certification for mail and express in addition to passenger traffic, the Sunliner route can be extremely important to Southern Utah and Arizona." ' Challenger currently is continu-- continu-- ing its intrastate operation in Utah, and is flying 10 trips to Phoenix each month. The new application calls for regularly-scheduled service on two routes. Route one would include Salt Lake City, Provo, Delta, Mil-ford, Mil-ford, Cedar City, St. George in Utah and Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Prescott and Phoenix in Arizona. Route two would serve Salt Lake City, Provo, Mt. Pleasant, Ephraim, Manti, Richfield, Beaver and Cedar City. Support of the company's application appli-cation came in a strong memorial from the Utah legislature to the CAB urging "promnt and favorable" favor-able" action on the proposed routes. Utah is one of the few states not provided feeder airline service through recent CAB actions. |